VOL. 54 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 P51
HASLAM TAKES LEAD IN BSB CHAMPIONSHIP
L
eon Haslam and Dan Linfoot shared race
victories in a dramatic opening round of the
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
Showdown at Oulton Park, September 16-17,
where Haslam put the JG Speedfit Kawasaki back
to the top of the standings as rookie Bradley Ray
celebrated a debut podium finish.
There was drama before the first race even got
underway for Showdown contender Jake Dixon
as the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki team
worked right up until the grid left for the warm-up
lap before he could exit the garage after a crash
earlier in the day. Dixon started last and from the
pit lane but a determined ride from the 21-year-old
saw him carve his way through the pack to finish
the race in fourth place.
The wet race would see Showdown contenders
Josh Brookes (Yamaha), Peter Hickman (BMW)
and Haslam all running towards the front, but it
would be Haslam who would take the race-one
gold after putting the race-winning pass on Ameri-
can John Hopkins on the 15th lap with Brookes
third, Dixon fourth and James Ellison in fifth.
Race two would be a dry affair and see Linfoot
secure his second race win in the champion-
ship, coming back from the disappointment of a
race-one retirement to hold off Haslam and rookie
Bradley Ray to the line as the leading trio were
covered by just 0.114 of a second.
Hickman was the second of the Showdown
contenders, finishing in fourth place after fighting
his way ahead of Brookes and Dixon with Byrne
finishing seventh to drop to third in the overall
standings.
Honda's Jason O'Halloran was the sixth of the
Showdown riders in eighth place after getting
ahead of Iddon and Ellison who completed the
top ten for McAMS Yamaha. CN
Dan Linfoot and Leon Haslam
went at it all the way to the flag
in race two with the Honda
man (4) getting the win.
